Parents of Adult Children…Do You Have Any Rights?

It’s a worse-case scenario: your child is hospitalized and you have no right to get information from the doctors or make any decisions when it comes to their care. Many parents know this, but don’t fully appreciate what it means. The minute your child turns 18, you can no longer help them without the proper paperwork. 

We think it will never happen, and hopefully it doesn’t, but when your 24 year old daughter is on vacation with her best friend in Mexico and gets into a car accident, or your 19 year old son is fishing and gets swept away by the current and is taken to the ER unconscious, or your newly divorced 33 year old son has an unexpected brain tumor and is incapacitated, it is important for parents to be able to get answers and make decisions.

Luckily, with a few documents, you can rest assured that if the worst does happen, you will be prepared.

HIPAA RELEASE

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 prevents health care professionals from releasing any medical information about an adult to a non-spouse unless they are named in a HIPAA Release. It sounds straight forward, but really it is not. I have spent more than 10 years in the workers’ compensation world, and I can personally state that there are many forms of HIPAA releases and not every provider will accept every one of them. It makes a difficult situation even more difficult. 

With the correct form, you will be able to speak with medical professionals about your adult child, or any other adult for that matter if you are on their form. This alone does not allow you to make any healthcare decisions for them.

POWER OF ATTORNEY- HEALTHCARE

If you and your child agree that they would like you to make decisions on their behalf should they become incapacitated, you will need to become their power of attorney for healthcare. This is different than a financial power of attorney. It is always a good idea to have this in case of an emergency, otherwise the doctors will do what they have to by law, which is listen to a court-appointed guardian. This is a person who is unrelated and usually a professional guardian. They have not met you or your child and know nothing about their wishes.

The medical Power of Attorney is combined with the living will, in what is known as the Advanced Healthcare Directive. It is good to have both documents in case there is a problem with the other and it is ineffective.

ADVANCED HEALTHCARE DIRECTIVE 

An Advanced Healthcare Directive is a document that outlines your own medical preferences. If your child has one and it is filed with the insurance company and your child’s doctor, their wishes should be complied with. If you are not their power of attorney and you do not have a HIPAA release, you will not be able to ensure the advanced healthcare directive is followed.

An Advanced Healthcare Directive is also known as a living will, which is confusing because it is not an actual will. It only discusses healthcare wishes and names an agent. 

YOUNG ADULT PLAN

I offer a young adult plan that includes the documents above and love to educate young people about their rights.

These documents are crucial in emergency situations, and as my Grandmother always says, “It’s better to be safe than sorry.”

Please contact me if you have any questions or to prepare these documents and for instructions regarding what to do with them once they are in your possession.